Princess Nokia Reissues Metallic Butterfly

Nearly five years on, Princess Nokia’s 2014 debut album has been remastered and re-released on streaming services. Listen to it with fresh ears now.

It hasn’t been long since Princess Nokia announced herself on the scene with Metallic Butterfly. But as she herself has pointed out on Twitter, the album may feel more a part of the musical and cultural milieu now than it did back then: “Metallic Butterfly was way ahead of its time. It featured trip-hop, jungle, R&B neo-folk, adult contemporary, grime and afro-Caribbean canto.” Quite the list. Yet thematically, too, the album is rooted in issues that have been amplified in the years since its release – anime culture in the West, cosplay, aspects of feminism.

So, the time seems ripe for a fresh listen. To aid its cause, it has been remastered and expanded (now featuring three bonus tracks) and it will be released on streaming platforms by Rough Trade. It is the latest output from Princess Nokia whose A Girl Cried Red came out in April.

It is clear that this reissue marks something of an exercise in self-realization for the rapper. She described it not as a new album, but as “the album that started it all.” “My Genesis,” she said in a tweet – when the music industry wanted her to rap, she “chose to be different and show the world.” Listen to it now.